FRENSHIP MESA PARK BACKGROUND AND PROJECTS

In June 2006, residents of the Frenship Mesa neighborhood in Wolfforth began an ambitious project to build a community park on a 4.1 acre vacant lot at the corner of Wildcat Street and Birch Avenue near Frenship High School.  Wolfforth City granted permission for a group of neighbors to plan the park, raise needed funds beyond what the city could provide, and oversee all aspects of construction.   To date over $42,000.00 in cash and an estimated $70,000.00 in labor and materials has been donated to modify the terrain, install needed infrastructure, and begin improvements.  All work on the park has been generously donated by hundreds of community members and local businesses.  Six of the planned improvement projects have been or will be completed by Boy Scouts from three local Scout troops. 

  The park’s designer and project coordinator, a 2007 Master Gardener Intern, has invited the Master Gardeners to participate in helping with the park in several ways:

1. Sunken Garden.  Just inside the entrance of the park will be a sunken garden, planned and installed beginning in mid-September by the 2007 Intern Class as their class project.  The garden is designed to demonstrate several xeriscaping principles appropriate to our climate.  The interns have been collecting plants and landscape accent materials to place in the garden, but could use the following in addition to help on work-days:
1. Plants, especially Texas Superstar plants
2. (3) Natchez Crepe Myrtle Trees
3. (3) Pink Crepe Myrtle Trees
4. (2) Desert Willow Trees
2. Entrance beds.  In the entrance itself are three small beds that will provide seasonal color and make the park entrance more attractive.  Most of the plants for these beds have not been chosen or collected.  These beds could use the following:
1. Some low-growing (less than 12”), colorful flowers
2. At least a dozen white Pampas Grass (Cortaderia ‘selloana’ or similar) to give a backdrop for the donor recognition walls
3. Dedication.  Depending on whether we meet our completion goal, the park will be dedicated on Friday, April 25, 2008 (Arbor Day) during a dedication ceremony.  After the ceremony, we’d like to have about a dozen 7-10 gallon size trees available that families from the neighborhood could go into the park and plant in pre-dug holes.  We need trees for this event.

Any Master Gardener or volunteer who would like to help out on any park work day is more than welcome.  Work days are scheduled based on when materials become available.  The current schedule is:

September 22nd, 9am.  Install pavers for a path through the sunken garden.  This will involve digging the path out 8 inches, installing steel edging, laying and compacting a 3” gravel base, laying and compacting a 2” sand base, and laying the pavers in place.  Concurrently, we will till a truckload of compost into the planting areas.

September 29th, 9am.  We’re anticipating a load of boulders to arrive during the morning and there will be machinery on site to place the boulders around the outside edge of the garden.  Once those boulders are in place, the edges need to be feathered to give a natural appearance, and plants can be added.  We will also start installing drip tubing and mulch.

October 6th, 9am.  Continue installing plants, drippers, and mulch.

Feel free to visit the park at any time.  The park surrounds a playa lake and will eventually have a large play structure, swing-sets, a ½-court basketball court (completed), shade structure with picnic tables, and a ¼-mile walking path with fitness equipment. 

If you’d like to participate in a workday or have plants that you’d like to contribute, call Andy Bridges at 252-7383 or e-mail at andy.bridges@ttu.edu.